Ryback

Ryback Allen Reeves (né Ryan; born November 10, 1981) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE where he performed under the ring name Ryback.

One of the eight finalists on WWE's '' Tough Enough 4'', Reeves later signed a developmental contract with WWE and wrestled in three of its developmental territories: Deep South Wrestling (DSW), Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), and Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). In 2010, as Skip Sheffield, he participated in the first season of '' NXT'', joined WWE's main roster as part of The Nexus, and headlined SummerSlam before being sidelined due to injury. Following his 2012 return as Ryback, he headlined multiple WWE pay-per-view events – generally in contention for the WWE Championship – and became a one-time Intercontinental Champion prior to his release from the company in 2016.

Early life

Ryback Allen Reeves was born Ryan Allen Reeves in Las Vegas on November 10, 1981. He started watching professional wrestling at the age of eight, and was a guest bell ringer at a live World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE) event at the age of 13. Wanting to become a professional wrestler, Reeves began lifting weights at 12 years old and was nicknamed "Silverback" as a teenager after a friend joked that he resembled a gorilla, later adopting part of it as his name. He excelled at baseball and football while attending Western High School and Palo Verde High School. He also played baseball during his freshman year at the Community College of Southern Nevada, but broke his leg and missed two seasons. He attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, entering its fitness management program.

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE (2004–2016)

''Tough Enough'' (2004–2005)

Reeves sent a brief one-minute videotape of himself to become a contestant on WWE's reality television series, '' $1,000,000 Tough Enough'', and was invited to Venice Beach with 49 others. During the first week of training, Reeves suffered from bronchitis and a rib injury. He eventually became one of the eight finalists to appear on '' SmackDown!'' and the last to be voted off. Even though he did not win the competition, Reeves impressed WWE officials enough for them to sign him to a developmental contract. He spent time healing from his injuries in Las Vegas before heading to Atlanta, Georgia in March 2005.

Developmental territories (2006–2010)

After training in Deep South Wrestling (DSW) for most of 2005 and early 2006, Reeves was transferred over to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in early March. In July 2006, Reeves was suspended for 30 days due to failing a drug test as part of WWE's Wellness Program. According to Reeves, he had been taking several over the counter bodybuilding supplements, one of which caused a positive reading. The supplements he was using were later taken off the market due to this effect and, although his suspension remained in place, Reeves eventually returned to the roster after passing a second test. His case was later featured on the CNN documentary ''Death Grip: Inside Pro Wrestling''.

After over a year's absence, Reeves returned to OVW under the ring name Ryback and won the OVW Heavyweight Championship on October 15, 2008, before losing it in the same month.

Soon after the title loss, Reeves was then re-signed to a developmental contract with WWE. From late 2008 to early 2010, Reeves wrestled in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) under the ring name of Ryback and later Skip Sheffield.

The Nexus (2010−2011)

On February 16, 2010, Sheffield was announced as one of eight FCW contestants to take part in the first season of WWE's new '' NXT'' show, where he finished sixth.

On the June 7 episode of ''WWE Raw'', Sheffield and the seven other ''NXT'' participants interfered in the main event match between John Cena and CM Punk, attacking both competitors as well as the announcing team before dismantling the ring area and surrounding equipment. The group, named The Nexus, would continue feuding with Cena over the following weeks. This resulted in a seven-on-seven elimination tag team match at the 2010 SummerSlam, where The Nexus lost to Team WWE led by Cena. In August, Reeves broke his ankle during a match, which made him undergo three surgeries and kept him away from wrestling for over a year until December 2011.

WWE Championship pursuits (2012–2013)

Reeves returned to television on the April 6, 2012, episode of ''WWE SmackDown'', under the Ryback ring name as a fan favorite. Ryback's 38 match winning streak ended in a WWE Championship match against CM Punk at Hell in a Cell in October 2012, where he lost after a controversial pin by referee Brad Maddox. He failed to capture the title twice more from Punk, first at Survivor Series, and then on the January 7, 2013 episode of ''Raw'', both times being interfered and attacked by The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins).

On January 27 at the Royal Rumble, Ryback entered the Royal Rumble match as the thirtieth and final entrant and eliminated five superstars before being the last man eliminated by John Cena. Ryback would then resume his rivalry with The Shield on the February 4 ''Raw'', when he teamed up with John Cena and Sheamus to attack the stable. This culminated in a six-man tag team match on February 17 at Elimination Chamber, where The Shield emerged victorious when Seth Rollins pinned Ryback for the win. The following night on ''Raw'', Ryback and Sheamus teamed up with Chris Jericho to face The Shield in a rematch, but were again defeated. Ryback then began a feud with Mark Henry after several non-verbal confrontations led to them attacking Drew McIntyre with their finishing moves in an attempt to one-up each other. On the March 15 episode of ''SmackDown'', Ryback defeated Henry via disqualification following interference from The Shield. Afterwards, Henry delivered the '' World's Strongest Slam'' to Ryback three times in a row. Ryback and Henry competed in a Bench Press Challenge on the March 29 ''SmackDown'', where Ryback tied Henry at 53 reps after Henry choked him with the weight. On April 7 at WrestleMania 29, Ryback was defeated by Henry in a singles match.

The following night on ''Raw'', Ryback saved WWE Champion John Cena from assault by Mark Henry before attacking Cena as well, turning heel in the process for the first time since 2010. The following week on ''Raw'', Ryback explained his attack on Cena as stepping out from his shadow and getting revenge for Cena not having his back against The Shield; before Ryback got a measure of revenge later that night, by allowing the Shield to attack Cena. After becoming the number one contender to the WWE Championship, but Ryback continued his feud with Cena by attacking him on several occasions while also having confrontations with The Shield. Ryback received his title opportunity in a Last Man Standing match on May 19 at Extreme Rules. The match ended in a no contest after Ryback rammed Cena and himself into the electric backdrop at the top of the ramp. The following night on ''Raw'', Ryback entered the arena in an ambulance and challenged Cena to an ambulance match for the WWE Championship at the first-ever Payback pay-per-view. The following week on the May 27 episode of ''Raw'', Cena accepted Ryback's challenge, but announced their match would instead be a 3 Stages of Hell match; the first fall a lumberjack match, the second a tables match, and the third an ambulance match. On June 16 at Payback, Ryback won the lumberjack match, but went on to lose both the tables and ambulance matches and his shot at the WWE Championship, to end the feud.

RybAxel (2013–2014)

Ryback then began feuding with Chris Jericho, which led to a singles match on July 14 at Money in the Bank, where Ryback emerged victorious. In August, Ryback debuted a new gimmick, where he began bullying various backstage workers. Also as part of the gimmick, Ryback would back away from fighting opponents of equal size and taking advantage of smaller and vulnerable opponents, and do a poo in the ring.

On September 15 at Night of Champions, Ryback aligned himself with Paul Heyman after helping him defeat CM Punk. Despite being a bully himself, Ryback claimed he hated bullies and vowed to stop CM Punk and anyone else who acted as such. On October 6 at Battleground, Ryback was defeated by Punk in a singles match following a low blow from Punk. On October 27 at Hell in a Cell, Ryback and Heyman were defeated by Punk in a 2-on-1 handicap Hell in a Cell match. The feud ended the following night on ''Raw'', when Punk defeated Ryback in a Street Fight match after forcing him to submit to the ''Anaconda Vise'', marking Ryback's first ever submission loss. On the November 11 episode of ''Raw'', the alliance between Ryback and Heyman came to an end when Heyman verbally berated him. On November 24 at Survivor Series, Ryback was defeated by the returning Mark Henry after he answered Ryback's open challenge.

Ryback then began a tag team with fellow former Paul Heyman Guy Curtis Axel collectively labelled as " RybAxel", and on the December 6 episode of ''SmackDown'', they defeated WWE Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Goldust in a non-title match to earn a shot at the titles. RybAxel received their title shot on December 15 at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, but were defeated by Cody Rhodes and Goldust in a four-way elimination match, also involving Big Show/Rey Mysterio and The Real Americans ( Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger). RybAxel received another shot at the WWE Tag Team Championship on April 6, 2014, on the WrestleMania XXX pre-show, but were defeated by defending champions The Usos in a fatal four-way elimination match, which also included Los Matadores and The Real Americans. At Payback, RybAxel defeated Cody Rhodes and Goldust in a tag team match. At Money in the Bank, RybAxel lost to Gold and Stardust. On July 2, it was announced that Ryback and Axel would be competing for the vacant Intercontinental Championship in a 19-man battle royal at Battleground, but neither Ryback or Axel managed to win. On August 26, 2014, Ryback underwent hernia surgery.

Intercontinental Champion (2014–2015)

After a two-month injury, Ryback returned on the October 27 episode of ''Raw'', as a face, returning to his old "Feed Me More" gimmick, and defeating Bo Dallas. Ryback would later end his association with Axel on the November 6 episode of ''Superstars''. Four days later on the November 10 episode of ''Raw'', Ryback appeared to join Team Authority for Survivor Series after attacking John Cena, but attacked his supposed teammates after they interfered in his match against Cena, joining Team Cena the following week. Ryback was eliminated by Rusev, but Team Cena won the match, putting The Authority out of power. Ryback defeated Team Authority member Kane in a Chairs match at TLC. After Seth Rollins coaxed Cena to bring The Authority back into power, Ryback, along with Erick Rowan and Dolph Ziggler, were (kayfabe) fired by Triple H on the January 5 episode of ''Raw'' as punishment for insubordination, but they were re-hired after Cena defeated Rollins, Kane and Big Show in a handicap match due to the distraction caused by Sting, on the January 19 episode of ''Raw''. On the January 22 episode of ''SmackDown'', Ryback defeated Rusev via count-out to earn a spot in the Royal Rumble match, where he was eliminated by Big Show and Kane. At Fastlane, he teamed with Rowan and Ziggler in a six-man tag team match against Rollins, Big Show and Kane, but lost. Ryback participated in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 31, but was eliminated by the eventual winner, Big Show. On the ''Raw'' following Extreme Rules, Ryback was attacked by Bray Wyatt (who sent a series of mysterious promos aimed at Ryback weeks prior), leading to a match at Payback, which Ryback lost.

At Elimination Chamber, Ryback won the vacant Intercontinental Championship, his first professional wrestling championship in WWE, by defeating Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth, King Barrett and Mark Henry in an Elimination Chamber match. The following night, before Ryback was scheduled to make his first title defense against The Miz; Big Show attacked Miz and confronted Ryback, starting a feud between the two. At Money in the Bank, Big Show defeated Ryback by disqualification after Miz attacked him; Ryback retained the title as a result. Ryback was scheduled to defend the title against Big Show and Miz in a triple threat match at Battleground, but the match was postponed after Ryback developed a staph infection in his knee; the match was rescheduled for SummerSlam, where Ryback pinned The Miz to retain the title. Ryback once again defended his championship against Big Show on the August 31 episode of ''Raw'', where he pinned Show after a distraction from The Miz, ending the feud. On the September 11 episode of ''SmackDown'', Kevin Owens, who was one of the lumberjacks, cost him a win against Seth Rollins. Three days later on the September 14 episode of ''Raw'', it was announced that he would face Owens at Night of Champions for his Intercontinental Championship. Owens won the match by pinfall after he raked Ryback's eyes, ending his reign at 112 days. After initially failing to regain the title using his rematch clause after Owens proceeded to get himself counted out, Ryback defeated Rusev to earn another opportunity at Hell in a Cell, where Ryback failed to regain the championship from Owens, ending the feud.

Final feuds and departure (2015–2016)

On the November 12 episode of ''SmackDown'', Ryback would enter the 16-man tournament to crown the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, but he would lose to Kalisto in the first round. At Survivor Series, Ryback participated in a five-on-five elimination tag team match, teaming with The Usos and The Lucha Dragons to defeat The New Day, Sheamus and King Barrett. In December, Ryback started a feud with Rusev after interrupting Rusev and the returning Lana on ''Miz TV'', which would lead to a match between the two at TLC, where Ryback was defeated by Rusev by technical knockout. On January 24, 2016, Ryback competed in the Royal Rumble match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship as the ninth entrant, but was eliminated by Big Show.

On the February 4 episode of ''SmackDown'', Ryback debuted a new look, abandoning his singlet and now sporting black trunks, where he defeated Erick Rowan, but was attacked by The Wyatt Family. Ryback teamed up with Big Show and Kane, being billed as "the titans" of WWE, to defeat Wyatt Family members Erick Rowan, Luke Harper and Braun Strowman in a six-man tag team match at Fastlane, with Ryback pinning Harper for the victory. The next night on ''Raw'', during a rematch between the two teams, Ryback walked out on Big Show and Kane, and later proclaimed that he was tired of being in tag team matches, turning heel for the first time since 2014.

On the March 7 episode of ''Raw'', Ryback confronted United States Champion Kalisto backstage, leading to a title match between them on the WrestleMania 32 pre-show, which Ryback lost. In a non-title rematch between the two on the April 21 episode of ''SmackDown'', Ryback defeated Kalisto, reigniting their feud. With the win, he earned another shot at Kalisto's United States Championship at Payback, but was again defeated on the pre-show, this was his final match and final appearance in WWE.

On May 2, it was reported that WWE had sent Reeves home from television due to a contract dispute, and he did not participate in a battle royal match he was promoted for. The following day on May 3, Reeves posted a long explanation on his personal Tumblr page, confirming that he himself made the decision to go home, and cited a lack of equal pay for talent and creative frustration as primary reasons for his departure.

On August 5, Reeves announced on Instagram that he and WWE had parted ways. Three days later, WWE released Ryback.

Independent circuit (2016–2021)

Immediately after announcing his departure from WWE, Reeves announced via Instagram that he would be taking independent bookings. He has not lost a match on the independent circuit from August 2017 to August 2018, and has not wrestled since August 2018. Reeves teased joining All Elite Wrestling in a Twitter post, where he stated he was "going to the competition". He later tweeted out a video of himself standing in front of slot machines, seemingly confirming himself as the surprise entrant in the Casino Battle Royale at Double or Nothing 2021. Despite the tease, however, he would not make an appearance at the event, and has not made an appearance in AEW.

Persona and reception

The Ryback character has been described as " Goldberg meets The Ultimate Warrior meets Rob Van Dam's tights". Owing to similarities between him and Goldberg (the latter of whom was estranged from WWE at the time, due to his own failed stint with the company in 2003–2004), the portmanteau

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